Check Out SparkPeople's New Community Goal Feed

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Spend a little time on our site, and it won't take long to discover that our positive and supportive Community is unlike any other. That's why we're excited to launch a new feature, designed to help you celebrate success, get a boost of support when times are tough and engage more easily with other members just like you! Did you know that SparkPeople members who are active in the Community tend to lose more weight than those who try to go it alone? This new feature can help you reach your goals, all while having fun along the way.

The Community Goal Feed (found on your Start page or homescreen) is a place to post updates and photos, share your goal progress and tell others a little more about yourself! Here are the features the Community Goal Feed has to offer in more detail:
  • Make a post. Tell us how your day is going—what went well or what needs to improve. Ask for tips to tweak your program for maximum results. Share a milestone or ask a question. All posts are viewable by the entire community, so you'll get support and answers from thousands of community members.
  • Share a picture. Want to share a post-workout selfie? Did you make a delicious meal that others might enjoy? Do you have a motivational mantra that keeps you going when times get tough? Post those pictures for everyone to see.
  • Track a goal. Log your workout here and it carries over to your Fitness Tracker. Choose from other goals that you accomplished today. Did you resist a food temptation? Get enough sleep?  Give yourself a pep talk? Track those goals here for added accountability.
  • Comment on someone else's activity. You can "like" or comment on any of the activities listed above. Perhaps you see another member who could use a kind word, or a friend who shares a goal he or she accomplished today. Helping others expands your network of support while you make new friends working toward similar goals.
  • Filter your feed. You have the ability to filter your feed by Trending Topics (those posts that are currently the most popular), People I Know (members I am "following" so that I'm sure to see everything they are posting), New Posts, Goal Posts and My Posts. You can also filter by hashtag—popular tags (most commonly used), interests (such as low-carb or running) and goals (which are the tags connected to the goals tracked in the feed). Filters are a simple way to sort posts by topic.
The Start page (on the full site) and the home screen (in the app) will look slightly different with the integration of this feature. Here is a breakdown of those changes, so you know what to expect.

On the full site:

  • My Challenges, SparkPoints & Streaks, My Community Quick Links, Featured Member Blogs, Hot Message Board Topics and More Articles & Videos have moved to the right column on the page, making way for the Community Goal Feed on the left.
  • There are fewer articles and blogs at the bottom of the Start page, but those are still easily accessible from the Learn tab at the top of the page.
  • Team Bonus Points and What's New in My Teams are no longer available. We looked at which features were most popular when deciding what to remove, and these two were used less frequently than many others.
  • Edited on 3/10/17 to add: You have the ability to make a feed filter your "default", so that each time you log into the site that is the feed view you see on your Start page. We quickly made this change based on feedback from our members, so thank you for your input!

In the app:

  • SparkPoints are no longer on the homescreen. To access points, use the menu at the top left (Android) or My Spark button on the lower right (iOS).
  • Member blogs are no longer on the homescreen. To access someone's blog, click on their profile page.
  • Friend Feed will only be linked from your profile page on Android, and there will be a new link to it on the MySpark/profile tab on iOS.
  • Mobile Chat is no longer a standalone feature.  All of those posts will appear in the new Community Feed.
You will be able to get notifications when someone replies to your posts in the feed. You will also get SparkPoints for posting in the feed.

We encourage you to start posting today in the Community Feed, and hope you will find it to be a useful tool as you work toward your healthy living goals!



Have you posted yet in the new Community Goal Feed? Tell us about it!